Ball State came out of the Central Arkansas Tournament 3-2 over the weekend, putting the team’s record 6-3 on the season overall.
The Cardinals kept their bats going as they had another big weekend at the plate.
“We had a lot of confidence in what was going on mentally,” coach Craig Nicholson said. “Overall for the weekend we swung the bats well.”
Despite a loss to Creighton on Friday and being held to just one run, Ball State showed up for the second game of the day and put 20 runs on the board against Grambling State.
Junior outfielder Jennifer Gilbert was responsible for the only run scored by the Cardinals against Creighton as she blasted a solo home run over the right field wall.
Gilbert hit her 37th and 38th career home runs Friday, putting her even with the current school record held by Amanda Montalto (2009-12).
“A big thing for her is to have quality at-bats,” Nicholson said. “She’s a good hitter and she’s hot right now.”
Gilbert experienced an attempted shutout at the plate as she was intentionally walked three times on Friday.
“She’s got to make sure she’s patient when people are trying to pitch around her,” Nicolson said.
Junior third baseman Aubrey Bickel added her second career grand slam against Grambling on Friday. Freshman shortstop Selena Reyna also chipped in her first collegiate triple and recorded four RBI. Freshman outfielders Sammi Cowger and Sasha Margulies recorded their first hits of their college careers.
The Cardinals took down the Tigers as they scored 20 runs off of 19 hits. Ball State scored 11 runs in the final inning alone.
On Saturday, Ball State was victorious over both Northern Iowa and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, finishing 9-3 and 14-0 respectively.
After a scoreless first two innings, the Cardinals got on the board as senior catcher Sadie Robertson hit her first of two doubles of the game followed with a double by Gilbert.
Ball State recorded 13 hits over the course of the game.
In Saturday’s second game, another freshman made a career first as third baseman Emily Dabkowski hit an RBI double to left field.
The Cardinals did not finish the weekend in the batters box as strong as they began, falling 6-0 to Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
Senior center fielder Amanda Carpenter tied for second place with the all time school record for career doubles when she hit two against Arkansas, leading the team offense.
Ball State will have another three-day tournament beginning March 1 as it plays five games in the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.
